This is fine. I’m an adult. I can handle this. I don’t have to tell this stranger that I love him. Holden could be a fling. Yes, it’d be nice to be flung. Although, I imagine once Holden flings me around this bed, there won’t be any going back. He’ll need to fling me every single night… And maybe in the mornings too… OMG, what’s wrong with me?The thought sends a jolt through me. It’s half nerves, half pure heat, and all burly cowboy fantasy.
I don’t know if it’s the storm, the firelight, or the fact that I’m completely cut off from my perfectly curated reality—but suddenly, the idea of trading in my designer heels for a pair of cowboy boots doesn’t sound so crazy. Neither does the thought of spending the night tangled up with Holden Kingridge and forgetting, just for a little while, who the world expects me to be. My sister and her whole small-town fantasy? Yeah... it's starting to make alotmore sense right about now.
“Here, we’ve got Oreos. A half sleeve of Pringles, and I found these cashews. Sorry, it’s not exactly gourmet.” Holden steps into the room behind me because apparently I’ve been in here obsessing for far beyond what’s socially acceptable.
“Perfect, Oreos for sure.” I hold up a hand and he tosses me the half-empty pack. I take one out, eat the frosting, and put the cookies back into the package. “I was just… thinking. It’s a good thing you found me. I’d have spent the night in the barn. Instead I’m going to spend the night?—”
He follows my line of sight to the bed. His jaw tightens just enough to notice. “You don’t have to worry, I’ll take the floor. The bed is all yours.”
Hate it. One star. Worst idea of the night.
I turn, arching a brow. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re both adults. I’m not going to kick you out of your own bed. There’s plenty of space.”
He crosses his arms. “It’s not about being an adult. I’m not going to keep you here in the middle of nowhere, no power, then insist you share a bed with me. Pa messed up on a lot of things, but he didn’t raise a fucking creep.” He runs a hand through his thick, dark hair. The motion drags his damp shirt tight across his chest. “I know this isn’t your idea of a good time. Don’t worry, you’ll be back to your life before you know it.”
I try to force my eyesnotto trace every line of exposed muscle… I fail miserably. “Holden, this is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me all year.” I shrug, totally casual. Some would even call me breezy. Whatever it takes to convince him that my heart isn’t currently doing parkour in my chest.
“Right.” He pulls a second comforter out of his closet and tosses it onto the floor beside the bed.
“I’m serious! We’re off-grid. No signal. No camera crews. No PR managers breathing down my neck. This is the first time in ages I feel like I’mactually living.Like I’m not just curating my life for an audience. This isn’t curated,” I continue, flashing him a grin. “It’s messy. And real. And kind of… perfect.”
Holden watches me from the doorway, arms folded, something unreadable flickering in those storm-colored eyes. He leans his shoulder against the frame, looking way too good for a man with no electricity. “You’re not what I expected.”
I blink. “Well, I’m the kind of girl who expects you to come eat Oreos with me in your bed. Come on, we’ve got nothing but time. Might as well find out if there’s any fire behind all these sparks.” I move to the bed and tug back the corner of the quilt. Then I slide inside and pat the bed beside me.
His lips twitch. I watch the hesitation crawl across his face. My pulse pounds… But in the end, it works.
Holden climbs into his bed beside me. We aren’t touching, but my whole body feels alive. It’s like the storm outside has crawled under my skin and sparked something I haven’t felt in a long time. I already know I won’t be sleeping tonight.
CHAPTER 4
HOLDEN
Zara’s curledup in my bed. She’s wearing one of my shirts. It’s white, and it’s impossible not to notice the way her nipples expand and contract beneath the thin fabric. Her legs are bare. Her hair is still damp from the rain. It’s the best kind of fucking torture.
We’ve covered all of the small things. Her life. Her job. The ranch. In her responses, Zara has all but confirmed the fact that she’s way out of my league. That isn’t a surprise to me. What is a shock is the way I’m drawn to her.
I’ve never been like my brothers. I have self-control with women. I’m not ready to throw my heart at anything with legs. But Zara isn’t just anyone. She’s smart and funny as hell. The woman has me wrapped up in her every word. My dick twitches with longing, and she hasn’t even laid a hand on me.
One night with her and I’ll be a fucking goner.
This rain is going to stop. The lights will turn on and everything will go back to what it was. I will be that one wild night on a ranch she posts about on her socials. She will be the woman I never get over. I’m not going to do that to myself, no matter how much I want to drive her into the mattress.
I’ve been mentally pacing on the other side of the bed like a caged animal. I’ve got a book in my hands, but it’s all I can do is try to think ofanythingother than what she looks like in my shirt… And what I’d do to get her out of them.
Zara isn’t making it any easier, and I think she knows it.
Now she’s sitting cross-legged like she owns the place. She’s flipping through one of my paperbacks with a flashlight. Zara makes quiet little noises every time she reads something she likes, and the moonlight kisses her skin.
Her lips are slightly parted, and every time she shifts, the hem of that damn shirt rides a little higher. I lean against the headboard and fold my arms. She catches me staring, and I let out a frustrated exhale.
I shake my head at my own desperation. “I’m gonna close that curtain. Maybe we’ll actually get some sleep.
“I still can’t believe this is real. You. This place. This storm. It’s like the plot of a romance novel. You’re the broody cowboy, and I’m the sparkly city girl who has no business being here.”
“It’s something all right.”
“Oh, if only I could think of some way for two smoking hot people to pass the time.” She raises an eyebrow at me. Zara looks up at me, then lets her legs fall apart just slightly. She gives me a teasing smile that sends heat whipping through me.
